


Alrighty Aphrodite

by Thatonelyric



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: 7 by Nico and 7 by Will, Alternate Universe - No Demigods (Percy Jackson), Bisexual Male Character, Blood and Violence, Boys Kissing, Consent, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Homophobia, Hot Will, Idk if y'all are gonna notice but Octavian is mentioned by name exactly 14 times, Implied/Referenced Sex, It's about fucking time!, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Muggle Life, Nico teaches Will Mythomagic, Octavian fucking sucks, Octavian is a homophobe, One Shot, References to ABBA, References to Harry Potter, Sex, Violence, Voulez-Vous, Who remembers that 7 is ghost number according to Chinese myths oooo, Will teaches Nico how to swim, consent is important!!, hot nico, solangelo, tw, use of the word fggot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatonelyric/pseuds/Thatonelyric
Summary: In the muggle world, Nico di Angelo meets Will Solace on a summer vacation to the beach, and they bond over baggage, insomnia, and Mythomagic.(Well Alrightly Aphrodite! If that's what you're telling me!)
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This entire fic is based on the song "Alrighty Aphrodite" by Peach Pit.  
> Also Voulez-Vous by ABBA is used.  
> Also I can't do italics on my computer but y'all should know the lyrics anyway.  
> You'll see ;)

JUNE

Nico hated this part. The insomnia, which plagued him each night when he was in cabin thirteen. He could hear his parents snoring lightly upstairs, and Hazel in the room beside him, no doubt sleeping soundly as always. He stared at the clock on the ceiling, and strained to see the hands. It was well after midnight and he could hear the water rushing up to the shore and crickets chirping. It was only the first night of their annual vacation, and Nico was ready to go home. Each year, his mother promised that the trip to their private cabin on Long Island Sound will be better than the last, but it never was.

Frank, Hazel’s boyfriend, was supposed to arrive the next morning, he remembered. Nico also hated that part of the visit; when Frank came, he and Hazel hung out separately, and Nico was stuck with his mother. Or, when Hazel and Frank did remember to include him, he suspected that it’s only out of pity. He knew that’s what happened. While Hazel was usually generally concerned, Frank probably only puts up with him, like Percy used to. He remembered the times when Percy used to come and hang out with Frank and Hazel, before the pair had started dating. He remembered how attached he’d been to Percy, following him around like the weird geeky kid he was. Frank and Hazel’s relationship probably hadn’t been the sole reason Percy stopped coming to the house.

It’d only been ten minutes since he’d last checked the clock, so Nico slid out of bed and threw on a hoodie and some sweats, making sure he didn’t make a sound as he crept out of the house into the night. The moonlight reflected over the treetops, and a chill made its way into Nico’s skin, but it didn’t bother him; cold rarely did. He picked up a stick as he made his way down to the beach, twirling it in his fingers. He slumped down on the sand next to a small shack, and looked out into the water, enjoying the soothing way the water gurgled against the friction of the sand.

“Hi,” a voice said, making Nico jump out of his skin. He jerked his head up and saw a man leaning against the shack, smoking a cigarette.

“Those are bad for you, you know,” Nico immediately said.

The guy sighs. “Believe me, I know.” He puffed out a roll of smoke and sank onto the sand next to Nico.

Under regular circumstances, Nico would’ve been frightened and retreated to the safety of his room, but this was a private beach; no one was ever here unless they belonged.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” the guy said.

“You too. I mean, you either,” Nico corrected himself.

“My family just rented cabin seven for the summer. You?”

“We’ve been in thirteen for years,’ Nico muttered, drawing designs into the sand with his stick.

The guy took another drag, and stared at the sky. Nico took this opportunity to examine him: he wore sandals, and had a ratty tee shirt on. He had a piercing in his ear, and a tiny bit of a tattoo poking out of the top of his shirt-- perhaps it was a sun?

“Aren’t you afraid of cancer or something?” Nico asked, looking into the sand.

The guy shifted. “Like I said, I know. I’m a doctor-- well, I’m training to be one. I only smoke when I’m stressed. So, I pretty much smoke all the time, but I’m trying to quit. At least… I’m telling myself to.”

Nico frowned. “You look too young to be a doctor.”

“I know, I said I’m in a school funded pre-med program; I’m seventeen. On top of it all, though, I have to deal with dyslexia and adhd. Not very fun.”

“I’m sixteen,” Nico muttered, throwing his stick a few feet away. Will glanced over to look at what he drew.

“That’s amazing,” he said. “What is it?”

Nico shrugged. “Just a drawing from a stupid game card. Nothing special.”

The guy crouched forward to get a closer look at the drawing, and Nico could clearly see his tattoo. It was a sun.

“Is that Hades?” he asked.

Nico’s skin heated up in embarrassment. “Um, it’s just a drawing from an old playing card. Mythomagic. I don’t play it anymore,” he added quickly.

“No… that’s cool! I kind of play Mythomagic, too!” he said. “Not that great at it, though.” Then he looked at Nico, and their eyes met. Nico bit the inside of his mouth. “My name’s Will.”

“Nico.”

“Nico,” Will said his name slowly, like he was testing it out. Nico suddenly felt extremely awkward, and wanted to leave. He made a move to get up, and Will noticed. “Nice talking to you,” he said cheerfully.

Nico nodded and shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. “See you,” he said.

It was after one o’clock by the time Nico slid back into bed. Frank was arriving tomorrow, he remembered, and… Will cool. He’d never known anyone else close to his age who used to play Mythomagic, so that was neat. If it had been daylight, Nico would’ve been interested in learning more about him, but nighttime and all… Nico just had a tough time during the night. Hopefully Will wasn’t too offended by his attitude; he’d been told that he needs to work on it, and he’d been trying. It was just hard sometimes. As Nico drifted off to sleep, he wondered if he’d see Will again. Normally he wouldn’t care, it was just… maybe Will could get him back into Mythomagic. Maybe he’d finally be able to hang out with someone who wasn’t Hazel’s friend and just allowed him to tag along. But… Will was seventeen. He was sixteen. Was that weird? Would Will just think them hanging out was babysitting?

Maybe he should stay inside tomorrow. He’d have the house to himself; Hazel and Frank would invite him out, but he’d decline, and his parents would leave him to go do their own thing. Hazel and Frank can’t force him to go outside, right?

…

Nico picked up his phone the next morning to one word.

\--Come--

He texted back: --No thanks.--

\--Plz? Frank’s here. We’re worried about u.--

\--I’d rather go out by myself than third wheel--

\--If that’s ur choice. Plz leave the house today.--

\--Fine. But only bc it’s you.--

\--Ly!!--

Nico gritted his teeth. He promised, he guessed, so he must. Maybe Will would be there.

…

The foam of the sea drifted across Nico’s feet, and he pulled them back. A breeze floated over his hair, ruffling it slightly as he squinted into the sunlight. Somebody attempted to balance on a raft near Nico, and he heard someone burst out with laughter as the person toppled into the water. A song pounded out of a speaker nearby, but Nico didn’t know which one. He anxiously scanned for Will, but tried to make it look like he’s not looking for anyone. He was about to give up and go inside when someone plopped down beside him.

“Hey,” Will said, using his hand to cover the glare of the sun. “How’s the water this fine morning?”

Nico shrugged. “Wouldn’t know.”

Will started and looked at Nico. “You haven’t gone in yet? It looks beautiful.”

“I don’t really like the water. I’m not a great swimmer.”

“I get that,” Will said, and Nico was grateful that he didn't have to elaborate any further. “Lucky for you, though… I happen to be a certified lifeguard.”

“Gee, I never would've guessed,” Nico said sarcastically.

“Guess I look the part, huh,” Will admitted, glancing down at his tank top and his sandals. “I got certified at the summer camp I’m a counselor at. But anyway: you should learn to swim. It’s an important life skill.”

“I’d never use it.”

“Ok, well, think of it this way,” Will started, shifting in the sand to properly face Nico. Nico couldn't meet his eyes. “Let’s say you’re on a boat or something-- I don’t know. Let’s say you forgot your life jacket, and so you need to swim back to the boat or wherever. What then?”

“Easy. Hazel will help. She can swim plenty.”

“Hazel?” Will furrowed his eyebrows.

“Um, my sister.” Was it Nico's imagination, or did Will look slightly relieved when he said this?

“What if she’s not there?”

“She would be. Also I don’t like boats, so it’s highly unlikely that I’d be on one in the first place.”

Will gaped. “You’re on a beach by NYC! How--”

“Look,” Nico said, and shifted to get up. “If you’re just going to berate me--”

Will looked shocked. “No, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I understand if you want to leave, but please don’t think of me like that. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

Nico shrugged and sat back down, but Will looked like he was getting up. “Just stick your feet in the water,” he said, like he was coaxing a dog into a bathtub. “Just that. I promise it’ll feel nice.”

“I-”

“It’ll feel better than you probably feel right now, right? I bet you’re sweltering in that hoodie.”

Nico glanced down at his hoodie. It did feel rather hot. He sighed. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. “Ok,” he said, “But only for a second.”

Will grinned, and Nico was glad he made him smile. He slowly stood up and walked nimbly towards the water, but Will ran past him and jumped in, forcing Nico to recoil as the droplets bounced, but he snorted slightly anyway.

After Will emerged from the water, he gave a short laugh. “The sea’s my morning bath!” he shouted to him.

Nico smirked a little and stood in the water, chilling his entire body. A shiver ran through his spine, but he had to admit, it did make him feel a little better. Will then walked up to him, dripping from the water. His tank top and string shorts were soaked through, but he left it on. Not that Nico cared whether it was on or off, but he was curious about the sun tattoo on his chest, and he could clearly see that Will was well built. Wait-- why was he thinking about Will with his shirt off? Nico shook himself, and glanced up at Will. The latter was considerably taller than him, but Nico didn’t feel as intimidated as he normally would.

“So?” Will prompted him.

“...What?”

“Does it feel better? Being in the water?” Will gestured at the ocean around them.

“Oh, right. Um, I guess so.”

“Nico!” A faraway voice caught his attention, and he turned to see Hazel and Frank strolling towards him and Will.

Oh, right, Will was here too. Awkwardly, Nico backed away from Will, to seem as if they weren’t talking, but Hazel and Frank were too close.

“Hey,” his sister breathed, coming up to them. “Glad you got out today. Who’s this?”

Nico grimaced. “That’s Will,” he muttered. Hazel raised her eyebrows.

Will smiled and stuck a hand toward Hazel. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hazel,” she replied, taking it and glancing at Nico, evidently uncertain but delighted the same. “I’m his sister, and this is my boyfriend,” she gestured to the person next to her, “Frank.” After Will exchanged hands with Frank, Nico felt sufficiently done, and locked eyes with Hazel. She knew his facial expressions, and recognized his need to leave. “Anyway,” Hazel said, glancing back to the beach houses, “uh… mom said we should get back soon.” Nico thanked her with his eyes.

“Oh, ok,” Will said. Did he look disappointed? “Let me know if you ever become interested in those swimming lessons, though.”

“Thanks,” Nico replied. “I’ll see you, I guess.”

Will gave a smile with no teeth. “Yeah; nice to see you again. You too, Frank and Hazel,” he added.

Hazel noded. They all waved a goodbye to Will, who walked back over to his things as they left. Hazel immediately turned to Nico and said, “What was that about?” She said it in an excited way, though.

Nico shrugged. “We met on the beach last night. We ran into each other again today, I guess.”

“But you went in the water! You never go in the water!”

Nico lifted his hands up like he was confused. “I don’t know, he just asked me to put my feet in. I don’t know what’s so bad about that.”

“Nothing! It’s great, that’s all. I’m just surprised I guess. You never go in the water.”

“You already said that.”

“I know, I’m just really shocked that a stranger got you to go in the water when I, your sister, or Frank and Percy, your very good friends, can’t get you to.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “He’s not a stranger, I mean. I guess he’s an acquaintance. I don’t know. You’re confusing me.”

Hazel shrugged, and thankfully dropped it. Since Nico had come out to Hazel nearly a year ago, he knew what she was hinting at, and frankly, Nico wasn’t surprised. He really wasn’t the type to socialize in person; online was more his thing.

They entered cabin thirteen and it was empty. Hazel and Frank asked if he wanted to watch tv with them, but he declined, and retreated to his room. He picked up his Hades Mythomagic card and turned it in his hands. He stared at Hades’ menacing face, and remembered how he drew it last night. As far as he knew, Will liked it, but Will seemed like the kind of guy to like everything; a guy who enjoys life. Maybe that was why he wanted to be a doctor, Nico thought. So he can give people another chance at life, because he knows how to live it.

But the swimming… Nico couldn’t believe he told that to Will. Very few people knew (or cared) whether he could swim, so why would Will? Will seemed genuinely interested in him, but he was just probably faking it so he can coach him to practice his lifeguard act. Yeah, that was it. No one cared about Nico that much to offer him swimming lessons. Well, Hazel had once, but he’d shut it down pretty quickly. So no. Nico glanced down again at the Hades card. Five thousand attack points, he knew, but only if he didn’t make the first move. Well, he wouldn’t take the offer, but maybe he could connect with Will in another way.

…

“You said you’re not that great at playing Mythomagic. Wanna get better?”

Will glanced up from the picnic table in surprise, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. “Oh, hey Nico. What?”

Nico sighed, and held up his Hades card. “Mythomagic. Wanna get better?”

Will raised his eyebrows. “You want to hang out with me?”

“Uh.. I guess. I like to play, and you need to get better, if you’re as bad as you say you are.”

“I mean, yeah, sure.” Will began to clean up his things. He took the cigarette from his mouth and crushed it into his bag. “I can clear a space on the table.”

Nico was surprised that Will said yes, honestly; normally people didn’t ask him to hang out with them unless Hazel asked them to, he was sure.

“Well ok then,” Nico said. He sat down at the table across from Will, and pulled out his cards and dice. “How much do you know?”

Will grinned. “I mean, I know how to play and everything, but it’s hard to memorize the point systems and stuff. Like I know that Hades has four thousand.”

“Five thousand if the person you’re playing attacks first, though,” Nico said.

Will threw his hands in the air. “See? I do need to learn more.”

“Ok. Do you have a deck?”

Will shook his head. “Not a full one.”

“So you have a booster. That’s ok; we can use mine.” Nico moved across the table so he could sit next to Will. “So let’s say the person playing us rolls the dice, and draws… Zeus. What do we do?”

“Um…” Will scratches his head. “Use Ares?”

“A lot of people think that's a good way to go, but it’s actually a bad idea to draw Ares so early in the game. Since Zeus has a very minimum amount of attack points, it’d be wise to hit them with the Manticore first. This would take out the first few lines of fighters and since the ones in back aren’t prepared immediately, it would be much easier to establish a good line of offense from the beginning of the game.”

Will raised his eyebrows. “Wow, I didn't even know Zeus had a low amount of ap’s.”

“They’re all written at the bottom of the cards, but it’s helpful to memorize them so you can act quickly.”

Will shrugged. “That’s why I struggle; the words are too tiny. Dyslexia and all that.”

Nico grimaced. “Yeah, that probably sucks. You can find the point system online through, probably. You’d just have to memorize them.”

“Damn. I’ll look into it, though. Anyway, the Manticore is used. Then what?”

“The player is likely to fight back to try and get ahead, so they’d probably use Kronos. He has infinite attack and defense power, so it's a little bit harder to get around him.”

“We could use Katobleps though, if we roll a high number.”

“Now you’re getting it. Katobleps would poison the next few rows of fighters. Let’s say our opponent draws Aphrodite and Apollo. What do we want to draw?”

“Hera and Hephaestus?”

Nico shook his head. “No; Hera and Hephaestus hate each other due to old grievances. They won’t work together at all.”

Throughout Nico’s entire explanation, Will had been staring at Nico’s energetic face, which had lit up immediately once he started talking about the game. Nico hadn’t noticed, though, and continued with one of his favorite games.

“…So we could play one,” Nico was saying.

Will nodded. “You’d win.”

“Probably. But I could give you helpful tips.”

“Ok.”

Nico got up to move to the other side of the table. Had Will known that he was going to move that quickly, he might not have agreed as soon; he’d have had Nico explain it to him some more. Just as an excuse to keep him talking.

“Here are your cards,” Nico said as he hands Will his designated cards and figurines.

“Thanks.”

“I’ll go first.” Nico rolled the dice. It was a seven. Nico placed down one card: Hephaestus. Will countered with Ares. Nico groaned and threw his hands in the air. “I swear, Will, if you let me win, because I fucking told you-- wait, what’s your last name?”

“Um, Solace. Why?”

“Because I can’t call you Will when I’m annoyed. Anyway, Solace-- very Apollo-like, by the way-- I told you not to use Ares right away! I don’t like when people let me win-- why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s not-- it’s not about you, I promise. Well, maybe.” Will chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. “I’m actually trying to play. It’s just that, well-- nevermind.”

“No, what?”

“Nothing.”

Nico put his cards down. “Solace. I want to know.”

“Fine,” Will sighed. “You look cute when you’re all riled up about Mythomagic, ok?”

Nico frowned. “You’re babysitting me.” He stood up to leave.

“What?” Will’s smile turned down. “No, what? I don’t know what you mean.”

Nico gritted his teeth. “I knew it. You’re not my friend. Hazel asked you to amuse me or something.”

“Huh? No, I never talked to Hazel-- I think you’re really cool, and I just thought-- nevermind, I’m not babysitting you. We’re literally one year apart.”

Nico sighed. Will was right. “Fine.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s just keep playing.”

“Fine with me,” Will said cautiously. “But only if you want to.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Ok.”

They played for a few minutes more in silence, and Will was losing badly by the time he got the courage to speak again.

“So what’s your last name?”

“What?”

“You know mine. What’s yours?”

“Di Angelo.”

“Nico Di Angelo,” Will tested the name out on his tongue.

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You know,” Nico put down his cards and gestured, “say it slowly. Like you’re savoring it or something, I don’t know.”

Will shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. It’s just something I do, I guess.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Did you really just put down Aphrodite?”

“Yes?”

“Aphrodite barely does anything, other than Dionysis and Eros, but Dionysis has better powers. Aphrodite is one of the weakest.”

“Her love is supposed to be strong, I thought.”

Again, Nico rolled his eyes. “Not strong enough to take down several layers of your remaining army, which I’m about to do with Athena and Zeus.” Nico laid down his cards. “You’re almost done, Solace, whatchu got?”

Will studied his cards. “Fuck, I you used Zeus and Athena, and I don’t have Manticore available, so I’ll use… Dementer, I guess. Shit, I mean Demeter. It was hard to read on the card.”

Nico scoffed. “I’ll excuse your crude mispronunciation of a Greek Goddess because of your mind, but never mix up an iconic game with Harry Potter again.”

“Hey, Harry Potter isn’t a terrible thing to be mixed with this game.”

“True. Hades.” Nico laid down his remaining card. “I win.”

Will shrugged. “Not the worst way for my army to die; could’ve been by drakon or hellhound. I’m fine with Death himself.”

“Hades isn’t Death,” Nico corrected. “Hades is the god of Death. He rules the underworld and the spirits within it. He has no control over who dies or not.”

“Then why does he make you win?”

Nico shrugged. “He has the Fates and Cerbeus. Combined, they can do anything.”

“True,” Will said again. He then shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Nico noticed. “So listen,” he began, “I was wondering.”

Nico frowned. “What?”

Will shrugged. “I was wondering if, maybe, I could have your number? Just to talk about Mythomagic and stuff. You’re really cool, and--”

“Sure,” Nico interrupted, pulling out his phone. “What’s yours?”

“Um,” Will gave his number, and his phone instantly dinged. He checked it to see that Nico had texted him hi. “Well, thanks. For the lesson and stuff. Do you wanna try getting back in the water? Or we could play another game, or--”

Nico shrugged, and looked out to the water. It did look nice, and he was sweating under his hoodie again. “Ok, the water. But only for a little bit,” he added.

Will gave Nico a big grin, and Nico felt a bit queasy, but not from his lunch. He took a deep breath, and took the deck back from Will. They got up and began to walk to the beach together. Well, Will walked. Nico felt like he was scampering to keep up with his confident strides. When they got to a deserted spot, They threw their things down, and Will ripped off his shirt. Nico forced himself not to look, but the sun tattoo blazed out at him, and he couldn’t not ask about it.

“What’s with the tattoo?” he blurted out.

Will glanced down at it and snorted, as if he just remembered it was there. “Oh, yeah, like you said earlier. My last name, Solace; very Apollo...ey. And Apollo is the sun god, so.”

Nico nodded. “Makes sense.”

Will grinned again, and Nico forced himself to meet his eyes. Will began to back up in the water, then, just as he had yesterday, ran and jumped in as a wave rolled through, soaking his whole body. Nico chuckled slightly and allowed the tide to wash over his feet. The water felt warmer than yesterday, which was nice; it even persuaded Nico to wade in a bit further, nearly to his knees.

“There you are!” Will said, waving his hands to coax him in further. Will was grinning more than Nico had ever seen before, his hair glinting in the sunlight. Nico forced himself not to focus on Will’s tattoo as he gingerly picked up the bottom of his sweatshirt so it wouldn’t hit the water, which ended up exposing his knees. He was wearing shorts, of course, but he liked to wear large sweatshirts on top of them to hide his scrawny body from people who may judge him.

Will jogged-- well, as much as one can jog in water-- up to Nico. Like yesterday, water dripped down his skin. “How does it feel?” he asked.

“Good,” Nico replied. And he wasn’t lying; it really did; the way the coolness from the water on his legs crepted up to his torso, and then his neck, and suddenly he felt terrific, and he looked up at Will and grinned with no teeth.

“Wow, you’re smiling!” Will said, beaming, as though it was all his doing (which it was, really).

Nico raised his eyebrows and chuckled; the first real laugh he’d truly let escape in quite some time. Suddenly, he felt an extra chill over him; he and Will looked up at the same time to see a cloud covering the sun.

“Looks like it might storm,” Will said, pointing a little further away to a darker cloud, which seemed to be moving towards them. Nico hoped it wouldn’t; the water was perfect, and he didn’t want his time with Will to end. “Looks like we should enjoy the water while we can, huh?”

Nico nodded, and watched as Will laid down in the water, balancing on his back. The latter spread his hands out, stretching his head back so all of his hair could get wet. Will closed his eyes with a smile on his face, and for just a moment, Nico glanced at him, and realized that he looked truly beautiful in the sunlight (or what was left of it, as the dark clouds were getting closer); the rays reflected off the droplets on his stomach; his hair under the water glinted; his tattoo sparkled; his earrings gleamed; his arms floated in the water like feathers; his smile stretched beyond the earth itself and wrapped itself around Nico like a hug; and he suddenly sank under the water, and Nico felt a grip of fear, but it was just Will standing up and wiping the mop of hair out of his eyes.

The shock passed, and suddenly a light flashed in the distance. The lifeguards immediately whistled, and made the motion to come back to the beach. Nico and Will felt extremely disappointed, but they trudged back to their things. A crack of thunder was heard, and everyone paused and looked up as it began to rain. First, it was just spitting, but then it really started; the drops came down in sheets, and Nico drew up his hood over his head. Having gathered up their things and the Mythomagic cards, Will hastily threw on his shirt, and grabbed Nico’s cold hand as they tried to find shelter. Nico had to practically sprint to keep up as Will desperately looked around.

There were a few shouts as the storm progressed; Nico felt a harsh wind nipping at his cheeks, and suddenly “Voulez-Vous” by ABBA started playing in the distance, which he suspected was a group of kids from cabin eleven pounding from a speaker as everyone ran around frantically (they tended to do annoying things, so it was highly probable that it was them). The song did fit the mood, he supposed, but he put the thought out of his mind as Will pointed to something. Squinting through the darkness of the rain, he spotted an alcove, and he and Will ran there, their hands slippery against the other’s. Panting, they made it, and ducked underneath together. Will checked his bag to make sure that Nico’s Mythomagic cards hadn’t been ruined (they weren’t, thankfully), and Nico pulled out his phone to text Hazel he was ok.

\--With Will, we’re fine.--

\--Really??!! That’s great! ;)--

\--Shut up.--

Nico rolled his eyes, put his phone away, and looked around. The alcove was a tiny bit small, with just enough room for Will and Nico to scrunch up in. The cave was echo-ey; he could hear every breath he took, every sound Will made. Nico looked over to Will and Will grinned back at him.

“Fine day this turned out to be, right?” Will said, but there was no irony to his voice as he pulled a jacket on over his tank top.

Nico nodded back and pulled his legs up to his chin to escape the water spraying outside.

“Here, are you cold?” Will pulled a blanket out of his bag (why he had it, Nico had no clue), and offered it to Nico. He accepted, and allowed Will to wrap it around his shoulders. Nico was unsure what he was supposed to do next; he had an urge to lean against Will to absorb his warmth, but he resisted it and leaned against the wall instead.

“I'm really glad you came, you know the rules, you know the game… Master of the scene…”

Voulez-Vous blasted nearby and Will chuckled. “Fits the mood, doesn't it?” he asked, having to raise his voice a little to be heard over the pounding.

Nico nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” he replied.

“Man,” Will said, looking out into the storm, “we never get this much in Texas.”

“You’re from Texas?”

“Yeah. Moved to New York a few years ago. You?”

“I was born in Italy, but moved to Las Vegas when I was super young, then we came here. I barely remember either place.”

Will shifted to the opposite wall, and Nico’s feet started to cramp, so he was forced to stretch and let them tangle with Will’s. After a bit of adjusting on both parts, his legs finally ended up across Will’s lap, and he had to admit, it felt really comfortable.

“And here we go again, we know the start, we know the end…”

“So while we’re here,” Will began, “We might as well talk. We don’t know much about each other, do we?”

Nico shrugged. “Not really, I guess.”

“Now is all we get… nothing promised no regret…”

“So what are your interests? Besides Mythomagic, of course.”

Nico shrugged. “I’m a fairly uninteresting person,” he said.

“I beg to differ,” Will scoffed, “‘cause there’s some sense of… mystery, around you. I don’t know. Should I reveal something about myself to make you feel more comfortable? But you don’t have to share anything at all, you know. I don’t want to pressure you, I’m just interested.”

“Umm…” Nico tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “It’s ok. I… used to have another sister, besides Hazel. She died.”

Will’s happy persona instantly vanished, and he scooted forward to place his hand on Nico’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” he said.

Nico bit his lip. “Yeah. My parents were driving her home from a friend’s house, and someone ran a red light. She didn’t make it.”

“Ain’t no big decision, you know what to do…”

“That must’ve been awful.”

“Yeah, it was.” Nico shook his head. “Anyway-- your turn. Tell me something about you.”

“Oh, uhh,” Will began, as if he hadn’t expected that response, “you already know a lot about me, but, I guess… I’m bisexual.”

“I can still say Voulez-Vous…”

The song ended, and Nico raised his eyebrows. “You guess you’re bisexual?”

Will chuckled. “No, I am. I came out a few years ago. Are you ok with that?”

Nico nodded. “I had a crush on a boy, once. I think.” Was it his imagination, or did Will’s expression change?

“That’s… that’s cool.”

“His name was-- is, I guess-- Percy.”

“What happened?”

“He has a girlfriend. Her name is Annabeth. He used to come over a lot and hang out with Hazel, but he doesn’t anymore. Probably because of me. I was really weird around him when I figured out how I felt about him.”

“I’m sure he didn’t leave because of you, but did you ever tell him?”

Nico shook his head. “No way. Only Hazel knows that… I am.”

“Am what?”

Nico lowered his head. “Gay,” he wispered into his chest.

“Nico,” Will said firmly, “there is absolutely no reason to be ashamed of your sexuality. God knows I’m not-- look at my earrings, and I have rainbow socks that I wear sometimes! No straight boy my age has them.”

Nico shrugged. “Anyway,” he said, lifting his head, “more about you, Solace. I want to hear about those socks.”

Will burst out laughing. “They have big clouds on the top, and a rainbow twirling all around until it reaches the bottom. They’re funny.”

“I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“It’s kind of embarrassing, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“I’m ready.”

“So when you said I was cute earlier, during Mythomagic, was that the ‘you-liking-girls’ side of you talking? Or the ‘you-liking-guys’?”

Will blushed, which Nico had never seen him do. He met Nico’s eyes with a sheepish look on his face. “The ‘me-liking guys part’, as you call it. Is that ok?”

“Yes,” Nico whispered. Suddenly he wanted to kiss Will, and he glanced at his lips. He thought Will noticed, because he asked,

“Does the ‘you-liking-guys’ part-- well, all of you likes guys, so that’s a dumb thing to--”

“Yes,” Nico answered more confidently.

“What?”

“I’m answering your question, Solace. Yes.”

“That you like me?”

“Yes,” Nico answered for the third time.

“Wow,” Will said.

“What?”

“No one’s ever liked me before.”

“What?” How could they not? You’re… you’re hot, Solace. It’s funny, because your last name is like the sun, and you’re--”

“May I kiss you?” Will interrupted. “Wait, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. That’s rude. I-”

“Yes.”

“What?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, Solace, you can kiss me. Get with the program.”

Will grinned, and he untangled his legs from Nico’s, and slowly leaned towards him. Nico’s breath quickened. “Wait,” he interrupted, and Will instantly drew back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never kissed anyone,” Nico said, panicking. “Or been kissed. Or done… anything, really, before.”

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Will said. “It’s ok.”

“No, it’s fine-- I just wanted to let you know, before you think I’m awful for no reason or something.”

Will’s smile returned. “I won’t. Do you trust me?”

Nico smirked. “Should I?”

“You should always trust a lifeguard,” Will said, and then suddenly their lips were together. Nico puckered his around Will, wondering if that was the right thing to do. Will’s eyes were closed, so Nico closed his too, and then Will’s hands were on his shoulders, wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer. And then Will pulled back for air, and Nico remembered to breathe again.

“Is this ok?” Will murmured, resting his forehead against Nico’s.

“Yes,” he breathed back, and they kissed again, and Nico slid his hands around Will’s face and into his damp hair. The storm didn’t exist anymore, nor did his lungs; Nico ignored their attempts to breathe because he just wanted to keep kissing Will, just keep kissing Will. Nico was kissing Will, and Will was kissing him, and if Will thought he was bad at it, he didn’t comment. He pressed Nico against the wall of the alcove and pulled him closer at the same time. Nico could feel Will’s heat rushing toward him with every swipe of the tongue, every noise that they made.

And as if Aphrodite herself had been watching and convinced Zeus to make everything perfect, the rain petered out. Nico and Will detached themselves as a rainbow appeared over the horizon, and the pounding above the alcove stopped. Nico stared in wonder at the ocean; it was calm, contrary to the beats of his heart. He took a few breaths to refill his lungs with oxygen, and turned back to Will. They locked eyes, and Nico wondered what to do next.

“Wow,” Will said. “It’s like a movie.”

“Crazy,” Nico agreed.

Suddenly, Nico’s phone buzzed. When he saw that it was Hazel, he almost put it away, but didn’t.

\--Storm’s over, if you noticed. Frank and I are heading down to the beach, do you wanna meet us with Will? Assuming you took refuge with him ;);)--

\--Fuck off. Fine.--

Nico sighed and looked at Will. “Frank and Hazel want us to meet them on the beach. Wanna come?”

“Sure,” Will said cheerfully. “Maybe after we can play some more Mythomagic. Do they know how to play? We could teach them.”

Nico snorted. “Yeah, right. Their brains couldn’t take it.”

With his lips still tingling from his first kiss, Nico took Will’s hand and led him out to where Hazel and Frank were waiting.

“Hey,” Hazel said, glancing down at their entwined hands.

“Hi Hazel,” Nico said firmly. “You remember Will, my, uh…” He was at a loss for words.

“Boyfriend,” Will finished, looking to Nico for clarification (Nico nodded, relief and excitement flooding through him). “I’m his boyfriend.”

“That’s… amazing, truly!” Hazel was buzzing, and Frank agreed.

Will squeezed Nico’s hand, and Nico squeezed it back. He could feel the sun blazing down on him, and for once in his life, he truly felt happy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the begining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: There is one scene in this chapter that has a huuuggee trigger warning. It's under the section AUGUST. Please skip if you need to bc there's violence and offensive slurs used.

JULY

“So it’s cloudy today, but I was thinking we could go for a walk on the pier--” Will stopped, his shoes half on, and raised an eyebrow. “You’re wrapped in my hoodie.”

Swaddled in the thick fabric, only Nico’s face was still visible, his expression between a scowl and a pout. “It’s cold,” he shrugged, hugging himself on the couch where he sat in cabin seven’s living room.

“You look adorable,” Will said, grinning. Because Nico did. He looked adorable and warm and perfect.

Nico rolled his eyes in response, and Will flung off his shoe and sat to his left. He stretched, and put his arm above Nico’s head.

Nico snorted. “Seriously, Solace? That move?”

Will shrugged. “I didn’t know if you were a cuddler or not.”

“I could become one, I guess.”

Will grinned, lowering his arm until it was resting on Nico’s side, and Nico leaned into him. Nico took a deep breath, and placed his right hand on Will’s chest. Will kissed the top of Nico’s hair, and the latter pressed into him. Will hugged Nico tightly with both hands, and Nico took a deep breath.

“I want you to teach me how to swim,” he muttered.

Will raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? That’s great! When do you want to start?”

Nico shrugged. “Anytime is fine with me.”

“Right now, then? The weather’s great.”

“Sure.”

Will made his way out to the beach, and Nico followed suit. Will slowed down to wait for Nico and they caught hands, shoulders bumping against each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw a boy around his age staring at them menacingly. He had hair similar to Will’s, which unsettled Nico. The latter cast his eyes down and followed Will to the shore, immediately feeling more relaxed as his feet sank into the cold water. 

Will pulled off his shirt and leapt into the water as always, which left Nico grinning.

“So the first thing to do is get your head underwater!” Will shouted.

“I can do that,” Nico retorted as Will made his way back to shore. He once again tried to ignore the way the water dripped down the infamous sun tattoo. 

Nico made his way to his waist and Will stopped him.

“Okay,” the lifeguard began. “First, you’re going to learn how to float on your back. Don’t worry, I’ll be holding you the entire time, okay?”

“Okay.” Nico nervously spread out his arms and tipped his body to the sun. Immediately, he felt himself start to sink, and a panic spread; he flapped his arms, and suddenly Will was supporting him and he could breathe again.

“It's okay, I got you,” Will said, easily supporting Nico in the water. “The key to floating like this is to keep your stomach above the water. As long as it’s above the water, you’ll be fine, okay?”

“Okay,” Nico repeated, breathing quickly. He arched his back and strained to keep his belly button above the water, but his head started to sink, and he grabbed onto Will.

“Woah,” Will said. “I forgot to tell you that you need to keep your body straight and relaxed.”

“Yeah, okay.”

This time, Nico spread his arms out, and didn’t sink. They tried a few more times before Will let go of him, and he was able to float on his own for one minute.

Next, the practiced treading water, and side stroke (it took Nico forever to get a hang of the latter), and by the time they finished going over freestyle, Nico was tired. They decided to pack up and as they walked back to their cabin, Nico noticed that the guy he’d seen staring before was gone, but he shrugged it off.

When they got inside, they showered and changed, and snuggled up on Nico’s bed for a while.

“Hey,” Will said. “What’s your worst fear?”

“That’s a random question.”

“I don’t know,” Will shrugged. “I don't know that stuff about you, and I’d like to. I really would.”

“Okay, fine. Deep water. Life… living. Hazel dying, losing my sword.” Nico shrugged. “Losing you.”

“That’s incredibly sweet and deep, but I have one question. Did you mention a sword?”

Nico nodded. He reluctantly untangled himself from Will and reached for a chest under the bed. As he stretched, the back of his shirt pulled up and exposed a piece of his skin Will had only seen in the water. A familiar feeling grew in his stomach, but he decided to ignore it.

“Here,” Nico said, lifting up his sword. “It’s stygian iron; very rare.”

“Oh my… god, Nico… where the hell did you get this?”

Nico shrugged. “My dad got it for me a few years ago, along with my ring.”

“Wow… that’s incredible. Honestly.”

Nico smirked. “Too bad I can’t fight with it, though. That’d be cool. I can only do jabs and stab at the ground and shit.” Nico rolled into Will’s open arms and held the sword to the ceiling.

Will kissed his shoulder, and Nico turned his face into Will’s, and the next part was theirs to share alone.

AUGUST

It was dark, but Nico usually liked it that way. Darkness comforted him; its shadows wrapped around him like a warm hug, and Nico was briefly reminded of Will as he trudged through the sand. Will wasn’t there yet like he said he’d be, but Nico didn’t hold it against him. God knows he’d been late plenty of times in his life. Whatever was keeping Will, he could wait.

The pollution surrounding stars reflected off of the water, and Nico stuck his feet in the water, letting the tide rush up against his thin legs. He fiddled with the skull ring on his forefinger. His father had given it to him a few birthdays back, and he wore it only when he felt confident enough to. One time someone had told him that rings were for girls, so he’d tried to regift it to Bianca, but she’d refused, calling the kid’s bullshit, and Nico had agreed, but hadn’t worn it everywhere anymore.

Now he did, picking up a nearby rock and throwing it into the water. It made a tiny splash, and suddenly he heard footsteps on the sand behind him. A grin grew on his face, expecting Will, but it was someone else.

“You’re that faggot, aren’t you?”

Nico started in shock. “Excuse me?”

The guy scoffed. “I saw you holding hands with that other fag earlier today. You’re him, aren’t you?”

Fuck, Nico thought: it was the guy from this afternoon who was staring at me and Will. Nico immediately thought about what he should say in response. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, beginning to stand up and leave, but the guy didn’t give him a chance. The latter grabbed Nico’s sweatshirt and shoved him up.

Nico stumbled against the shack, and the guy shoved him past the open door into the dimly lit room.

“What-- HELP!” Nico tried to shout, but the guy shoved his elbow in his mouth, leaning him against the table.

“Listen,” The guy whispered with a growl in his tone, “I fucking hate faggots. You frighten the world, and you don’t deserve to be a part of it.”

As the guy punched him in the stomach, Nico had two thoughts on his mind: where the fuck was Will, and he wished he had his sword handy. Nico almost slipped out of the guy’s grasp, but he had a strong hold. He was too weak to scream as tears rolled down his eyes, enduring hit after hit to the stomach, head, chest, everything.

“Listen,” the guy said again with asterismos, gripping Nico’s fragile body with anger, “I, Octavian, hate your tainted guts, the ones who trouble our pure genes. I am pure, and you’re not! And I want you and your disgusting faggot boyfriend to get the fuck out of here. I never want to see your faggot asses again. Got it?”

“I’m not a pile of sticks,” Nico attempted to say, but Octavian pressed his neck against the table, and Nico could feel himself choking. There was another blow to his face, and Nico felt his nose break. He went limp against the table, and Octavian let him fall. He was laughing, laughing, as he kicked the retching Nico, and Nico curled into a ball, but then Octavian was abusing his back, and then there was blinding pain; Octavian had evidently kicked him in the balls.

Nico gasped and threw up on the floor. He choked and tried to scream, but no sound came out, and Octavian was gone, where was Will and where was Octavian, and he accidentally bit his lip and tasted blood, and he accidentally rolled into his own filth, he was in a frenzy, he couldn’t move, and wanted to die, wanted to die.

For a moment, he saw Bianca, and she was reaching toward him, and he tried to run to her, but someone was pulling his arm in protest and he looked back and was blinded with sun, and he still couldn’t move, writhing on the floor, and would heaven even accept him in this condition? And the floor was so hard, and he wanted to die, and then he hit his head on the leg of the table and he knew no more.

…

Suddenly, Nico was awake. He didn’t remember waking up, really, nor did he remember going to sleep. There was a beeping sound, and he realized he was in a hospital, and it all flooded back to him: the punches, the pain, the puke… but none of that mattered, Nico realized. What truly hurt the most were the insults. Nico had never been called a fag before, and it resonated within him. Even when he’d had school bullies, they’d never called him that.

He must’ve shifted or something, because Hazel was immediately at his side. She seemed to be relieved.

“Hey,” she said, a sad smile on her face. “Dad and your mom will be here soon.”

“Where’s Will?” Nico croaked, barely able to move his lips.

Hazel grimaced. “He tried to visit, but they won’t let anyone but family in the room. He’s been in the lobby for hours. Can you drink?” His sister gestured to a foam cup on a side table, and lifted the straw to Nico’s lips. He tried to swallow, but he couldn’t make his muscles work like that, and Hazel put the cup away.

“Soon,” she promised, and Nico couldn’t tell if she was talking about the drink or Will.

Hazel suddenly lowered her head, and he knew what was coming next. “I’m so sorry to ask this, but the doctors need to know… and Will and Frank and I, we need to know… what happened? Can you talk about it?”

You frighten the world.

“Um. Nothing happened. I just fell.”

“You are a terrible liar,” Hazel sighed. “You can’t get this hurt from simply falling, Nico-- but no pressure. I know you’ll talk when you’re ready. I just want you to know, though: whoever fucked you up is a real pezzo di merda.”

Nico cracked a small smile at the familiar Italian as Hazel glanced back at the door. “I should’ve gotten the nurse when you woke up, so I guess I should now. I’ll be back.”

For a young teenager, Hazel was extremely mature, Nico thought. The nurse came in and something beeped, and he was asleep before he could ask the nurse for Will.

…

He was swimming with Will, and then he was getting punched by Will, but then Will turned into Hazel and His dad and his mom and Frank and Bianca and Percy… Where the fuck did Percy come from?

…

He was awake, and didn’t recall his dream. But Hazel said Will was in the lobby, and so he wanted to go to the lobby, and he tried to get out of bed, but the nurse told him to hush and asked him to sip something from a cup. It was bitter, but it soothed him, and he realized he could sip again, and then he was asleep.

…

There was that damn Hades card, but it was scarier than usual; it glowed, and his sword was coming to attack him, but there was no person behind it, and then…

…

Hazel was there, but Will wasn’t and he began to cry. “Please,” he sobbed, don’t put me under again, I want to see Will, I want to-- Please!” And a mask was put over his nose and he tried to kick, but he couldn’t move and he was so tired but he wanted to see his boyfriend, dammit! But then he was asleep again.

You don’t deserve to be a part of it.

…

Will was slumped on one of the chairs, a hand over his eyes. He was asleep, but stirred when Hazel sat down next to him.

“He’s been in and out,” Hazel said before Will opened his mouth to ask. “He really wants to see you.”

“I really want to see him,” Will replied.

Will looked awful; there were bags under his eyes, his shirt was wrinkled and crusty with dried sweat, and he smelled terrible; he probably hadn’t showered for days. He had an unlit cigarette between his teeth (he wasn’t allowed to smoke inside).

“Will. You need to go home.”

“I can’t. I want to see him.”

“Stop being stubborn. He has to recover, and he won’t tell anyone what happened.”

“Maybe I could ask him and he’d tell me.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Please,” Will said. “I know he’s closest to you, but maybe that’s why he’s not opening up. He’ll tell me.”

“You don’t know that. Seeing you could make it worse.”

“But it could make it better,” Will countered. “Let me just try. Please. I love him.”

Hazel sighed, and bit her lip. 

“Ok,” she said.

“Ok?”

“Ok. Thank you.”

… 

Nico cracked his eyes open. Hazel was there.

“Don’t make me go to sleep again,” he pleaded, and she nodded her head.

“They won’t. They brought someone to see you.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Another doctor?”

Hazel grinned. “Sort of,” she smirked, and moved aside.

Will was there, and he was… beautiful. As always.

“Hey,” Nico croaked. “Nice of you to show up.”

Hazel left the room, but kept the door open behind her.

Will rushed to Nico, and instantly checked his forehead and pulse. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Bro, I know you’re gonna be a doctor and shit, but you need to stop.”

Will did, but moved his hands from Nico’s wrist to his cut and bruised chin. He searched Nico’s eyes, tracing for a sense of something, his anger barely restrained.

“Who did this to you?” he said in such a low register that Nico wasn’t aware he could produce.

Nico couldn’t meet Will’s eyes. “Nobody,” he muttered, swiping his tongue around his mouth to get rid of the foul taste of the remaining scent of blood.

Faggot.

Nico had never seen Will like this before, and it frightened him.

You frighten the world.

Disgusting.

He was fine. He wouldn’t let the words get to him.

“Bullshit, Nico.”

Nico frowned. “What?”

“Nothing didn’t happen. You didn’t fall, you didn’t trip-- what happened? I love you, Nico. Please tell me.”

That made Nico freeze. “You love me?”

Will nodded sadly. “I do. And if you want to come home, get out of this damn hospital, you need to begin talking.”

“I love you too, you know.”

Will took a deep breath. “This is not how I imagined this moment,” he said, rubbing his palm on his forehead.

“There… was a guy.”

Will glanced back up, brows furrowed.

“He called me things. And he hit me. A lot. He didn’t like seeing us together.”

Nico watched in horror as Will’s face collapsed into shock, then disbelief, then back to shock, and finally, to anger.

“What’s his name.”

I am pure, and you’re not.

Nico gritted his teeth. “See, this is why I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it or tell anyone, they’d--”

“Yeah, no shit, Nico!” Will raised his hands in the air. “It’s a ‘big deal’ if you get beat up by a homophobe,okay?”

“Please don’t yell.”

Will instantly softened. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I won’t yell, but you need to listen to me,okay?”

Nico nodded.

“There is the option of the police--”

“I don’t want that, I--”

“I haven’t finished.”

“Oh.”

“As I was saying,” Will began, “there is the option of turning him in and pressing charges and whatnot, I don’t know; I’m not a lawyer. Anyway, there’s that. Let’s say you don’t do that; fine, it’s your choice. The second choice is to let him go free, and he’ll be free to do this again to someone. The last option is to let me go and beat the shit out of him.”

Nico cast his eyes down. The blanket covering him looked grainy. “That’s not fair.”

“Why not.”

“I chose the second option. I want to put this all behind me.”

“You’ll still have scars, and I don’t mean just the literal ones.”

“I don’t care. He’s not worth it.”

Will pursed his lips. He looked like he was about to cry. “Nico,” he said with a shaky breath. “You don’t know who found you, do you?”

Nico shook his head. He didn’t want to know.

“I-- I did. I arrived late for our date, and I found you in a literal pile of shit. To find you like that--” Will broke off as tears began to stream down his face. “And… whatever it did to me, seeing you like that… it must have been so much worse for you. It must be so much worse.”

Will leaned forward onto the bed and leaned against Nico.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t fucking apologize,” Will sobbed into Nico’s shoulder. “Fuck, I should be the one holding it together, I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so fucking sorry this happened to you.”

“Shit happens,” Nico muttered against Will’s blond locks.

“It doesn’t though… it shouldn’t.”

“Yeah, but it does. It sucks.”

“Everything sucks.”

“Yeah, it does.”

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes, until someone came over the intercom and announced that visiting hours would end shortly.

“I, uh, talked to your nurse,” Will whispered into Nico’s chest. “They’re planning to let you out in a day or so, once they get your blood count where they want it and some other doctor shit. We’ll go back over this then,okay?”

“Okay.”

Will detached himself from Nico and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I love you, Nico.”

“I love you too, Solace.”

SEPTEMBER

“Do you remember side stroke?”

“Duh. You did the ‘carry the apple to the basket’ thing with me for days.”

“Let me see it, then.”

Will stood in the water with his arms crossed and observed his boyfriend swim a few feet forward.

“You need to scissor kick, remember! It’s not all about the arm!” Will called. Even in the water, he could see Nico roll his eyes.

“You’re a real Poseiden! Five-hundred points!”

Nico stopped swimming and walked back to Will. “Five-hundred if you enter the water first, but four-hundred if you’re handy with a trident.”

“Of course, I remember.”

Nico took a deep breath and put his hands above his head. Even now, Will could still see a tiny scar on Nico’s side where Octavian had once drawn blood. He shook the hospital out of his memory and focused on his boyfriend. He’d greatly improved since he’d started learning, but it wasn’t that much of a surprise, because, well. Will was a great lifeguard.

Will had to give himself credit: not only was he a good lifeguard, he was pretty damn good doctor-to-be, too. After the thing with Octavian, Will had learned a lot from the hospital staff, tending personally to Nico as he healed. Physically, it hadn’t taken long for Octavian’s trace to leave, but mentally… well, he didn’t want to think about that. The thing was, whatever Octavian had said or done, had resonated within Nico deeply. It didn’t shock Will, for that would’ve happened to anyone who’d been mentally and physically abused, but it took a deeper toll on Nico. Nico became inconsistent; there were days when he would talk to Will for hours about Bianca, and how she wanted him to go home, whatever that meant; there were days when he wouldn’t talk at all; there were days when only Hazel and the necessary hospital staff were allowed in the room. All the different behaviors had killed Will, and… well, he didn’t want to think about it. Especially Octavian. He had to get his hatred for Octavian out of his mind, because then it would go to before. And he really hated it before.

“Hey,” Nico said as he came back to shore, “Wanna go for a walk on the pier?”

Will shook his head. “You know I would, but Dr. Ramirez-Arellano is coming this afternoon. You know, your lawyer.”

“Oh, right.”

There was a pause, and Will gestured back to the cabin. “Let’s shower and get ready for her,” he said confidently. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

As they walked along the beach, Nico slipped his fingers in between Will’s. It’d been forever since they’d held hands in public, because of the Octavian thing, but they did now, and it felt wonderful.

“I love you,” Nico said quietly.

“I love you too,” Will replied. “Everything’s going to be okay, you know?”

“I don’t know, though.”

“Well I do,” Will said firmly. “I do. It’s… doctor intuition or some shit.”

“Sure,” Nico grinned. “If you say everything’s good, well, then. I do too, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I do.”

And like that, Aphrodite herself may have smiled down upon them, and everything was just so.

**Author's Note:**

> I will finish my unfinished works (probably)!!!


End file.
